Rodi or Rodiya are reported to be an untouchable

social group In the social sciences, a social group can be defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties ...

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

amongst the

Sinhalese people Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of t ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Their status was very similar to all the

Untouchable Untouchable or The Untouchable may refer to: People * Untouchability, the practice of socially ostracizing a minority group of very low social status ** A word for the Dalits or Scheduled Caste of India, a group that experiences untouchability * ...

castes of India with segregated communities, ritualised begging, economically weakest section of the society.

History

The various stories on the origin of the Rodi caste are contradictory and therefore far from certain. However, stories about their origin have been passed down orally by their generations. These folklore suggest their origin begins from the Sinhalese royalty. They believe they descended from the daughter of King Parakramabahu named Ratnavalli (also known as Navaratna Valli). Some of these stories are found in published documents as well. According to the Janawanshaya, a palm leaf record written in the 15th century that explains the caste hierarchy in Sri Lanka, Rodis were not considered to be purely a low caste group. According to Kandyan law, the worst punishment for high caste nobles was the exiling them to the Rodi caste.

Robert Knox (sailor) Robert Knox (8 February 1641 – 19 June 1720) was an English sea captain in the service of the British East India Company. He was the son of another sea captain, also named Robert Knox. Life Born at Tower Hill in London, the young Knox sp ...

and

Hugh Nevill Hugh L. Nevill (1847 – 1897) was a British civil servant, best known for his scholarship and studies of the culture of Sri Lanka. Biography Hugh Nevill was born on 19 June 1847, and came to Ceylon, as it was then called, at the age of seventeen ...

are two of the prominent writers who have mentioned the Rodi Caste in their writings. Although these folklore tales do not provide many facts about the origins of the Rodi, they trace a connection between the daughter of King Parakramabahu and a

Vedda The Vedda ( si, වැද්දා , ta, வேடர் (''Vēḍar'')), or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Veddas, ...

with hunting, human sacrifice and cannibalism.

References

External links

Ethnic Groups in Sri lanka - RodiyaThe Status of Nihali (On Nihali)
{{Authority control Sinhalese castes

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links